Chapter 107
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We advance, keeping a consistent distance from the three who went ahead. Our pace isn’t particularly fast.
Even though the three of them are clearing out monsters ahead of us, it’s not hard to imagine that there are so many monsters that it takes considerable time to exterminate them, even with their skills.
We face the ghouls and skeleton warriors that immediately spawn after they’ve been wiped out, and we realize anew, 「If we had left this alone, it would have turned into a seriously bad situation.」
「Son-in-law.」
「What is it?」
「What happened to the Holy Sword when you were part of the Hero’s party?」
It’s necessary to keep up conversation as we move forward.
「What do you mean by ‘what happened’?」
「Hmm. You’re not very perceptive, are you, son-in-law…
Who was using it, or was it not used in battle like earlier? There are various other possibilities too.」
I’m not unperceptive at all!
Hmm, Sensei is curious about the Holy Sword. That means… I’ve got it!
「Could it be,」 I preface proudly.
「Could it be?」 Sensei tilts her head.
「Could it be that Sensei was a former wielder of the Holy Sword?」
In response to my flawless prediction, Sensei puts her hand to her forehead and sighs, saying,
「Son-in-law, how on earth did you come to that conclusion…」
Ugh, I’m not unperceptive, okay?!
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Anyway, let’s get back on track.
Right, we were talking about how the Holy Sword was handled up until now.
「For the first six months or so, the Hero used it. But that guy could barely hold a sword, so most of the time he just stood behind me in Saint Mika’s barrier, arms crossed, spacing out and giving orders that could hardly be called orders. So at that time, the Holy Sword was treated no differently than any other ornament.
After that, I borrowed it from the Hero during the boss fight in the Mirror Dungeon. From then on, I used it as my main weapon for a little over a year until I handed it over to the sword saint, Eris.」
To me, the Holy Sword was just an unbreakable, sturdy sword no matter what I did to it, but thinking about it now, I might have been quite disrespectful to it.
Especially during the boss fight in the Mirror Dungeon, I feel like I was using it almost like a blunt weapon.
The Crystal Doll
This thing was impossibly hard, to the point where cutting it was out of the question and I really wished I could’ve been spared from fighting it. Even though I had cut through the Deadly Series at that time, my skills and strength were barely enough to scratch it. So, I had no choice but to repeatedly strike the same spot with the Holy Sword over and over to accumulate even a little damage.
In that sense, the Holy Sword was completely used as a blunt weapon.
Holy Sword, I truly apologize.
But that aside, the Holy Sword’s existence was indispensable in conquering numerous dungeons. During that time, wasn’t the Holy Sword the only thing that stayed with me unchanged when I was struggling? …Maybe that’s a bit too sentimental.
「Son-in-law. There’s something I’d like to ask, just to be sure.」
Sensei timidly speaks up.
It’s rare for her to take such a reserved attitude. She’s probably trying to ask something so obvious that she’s hesitant to even question it.
「What is it? Feel free to ask anything.」
Come on, there’s no need to hold back.
We’re close enough for that, aren’t we?
「You continued to be the wielder of the Holy Sword for over a year, correct? So, do you know the Holy Sword’s ‘true name’?」
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True name…? What’s that? Is it delicious?
「Legend of…?」
「No.」
「Ashida?」
「No.」
「Kana’s partner?」
「No.」
「Manners?」
「No.」
「Leah?」
「Stop it, stop it!! You idiot!!」
「Ughaa!」
Sensei finally resorts to physical action (hitting me on the head) to stop me (I brought this upon myself).
「The ‘true name’ refers to the ‘true name’ engraved into that existence.」
「’True name’…」
Sensei has started saying something quite grand.
I was trembling in fear, thinking I might be questioned about my mistreatment of the Holy Sword.
This is bad! This is bad!
Ash doesn’t interject, but she’s listening intently, looking interested.
「Items of ‘Mythic’ rank should have a ‘true name’, shouldn’t they?」
Then Sensei asks me as if to confirm.
「And the current sword saint – Eris, was it?」
Ash and I nod at the same time.
「Of course, the one she possesses also has a proper ‘true name’.」
Sensei continues further.
「The Holy Sword passed down in the Arcana Kingdom – its ‘true name’ is ‘Guardian Sword Refaia’.」
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Refaia? Re:FIRE?
「I don’t know all the previous wielders of ‘Refaia’, but I do know the first person who used this sword.」
「What kind of person is he?」
In response to my question, Sensei mutters as if reminiscing about something.
「He was a person who seemed to wear seriousness like clothing. Despite that, he had a sense of humor too. In fact, he was the one who named the Holy Sword’s ‘true name’.」
Wow! Even the important people of the country only called it the ‘Holy Sword’, so this is the first I’m hearing of this.
「Maybe the documents were lost for some reason. But there’s no point in speculating about that now. This world is different from the world you and your companions were in. The importance of documents might be different, and the difficulty of preserving them might be different too.」
Now that she mentions it, it seems obvious. The culture itself is different after all.
「But even considering that, I wish at least the Holy Sword’s ‘true name’ had been passed down – you know, son-in-law, there are some items that can’t display 100% of their power unless you know their ‘true name’.」
「Don’t tell me-」
「That’s exactly it. The Holy Sword won’t fully demonstrate its abilities unless you know its ‘true name’, ‘Guardian Sword Refaia’.」
There’s a slight possibility that the Holy Sword was just a blunt weapon because I didn’t know its ‘true name’… seriously?
「And its ability is-」 As Sensei was about to continue her explanation, there was a change in the movement of the three who had gone ahead.
「Omi, Low.」
Ash turns to face us.
「I know this feeling all too well.」
This feeling that I’ve experienced far too many times.
「Even though we’re only on the second floor – it’s the appearance of the boss room.」
I can sense that they’ve just entered the boss room at this moment, whether they were preparing in front of the room or confirming something.
「Shall we go too?」
Sensei declares, indicating we’ll continue our conversation later.
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A short while after they entered, we burst into the room. We immediately spot the three of them.
Swinging her sword at the front is the sword saint, Eris.
She’s fighting fiercely to protect her two companions and, if possible, to defeat the enemy with her own hands.
A little distance away is the mage Angelica, who’s in the middle of chanting a spell to defeat the boss.
And next to her is Mika, who looks visibly pale even from a distance, trembling and exhausted.
And above all… above all – the monster they’re facing is a nightmare revisited for me, one I’d prefer never to face again.
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